Chapter 1317
Dongyue, have you betrayed us too?!
After being brutally beaten by the security personnel.
Sextant finally made it into headquarters. He was dragged in by two security guards, his feet leaving two bloody trails on the ground. His once crisp commander's uniform was now a tattered rag, hanging on his body and fluttering in the wind. His face was swollen like a giant's, bluish-purple and shiny, his eyes narrowed into two thin slits, his lips thick and everted, looking like a pig's head that had been stung by wasps and then rubbed in the mud three hundred times.
But now he can't give orders in this state.
He tried to raise his only still-movable hand, intending to point towards the operations room, but it fell limply halfway up, his fingers twitching, too weak to even clench. He tried to speak, but his swollen mouth could only utter indistinct whimpers, like a leaky bellows or a duck being choked—completely unintelligible. The surrounding staff exchanged glances, then collectively turned their gaze to Cui Ming, who stood calmly to the side, drinking water.
And everyone wants to laugh when they see him now.
The technician in the operations room was suppressing a laugh, his shoulders shaking as he nearly pressed the wrong button; a female employee passing by in the corridor glanced at him, immediately covered her mouth, and hurried away, but laughter still escaped through her fingers; even the usually serious operations commander turned around, pretending to study the map, but in reality, he was trembling all over. His face was so comical—swollen and shiny, his features contorted, bandaged like a mummy, yet revealing bruised flesh—he looked like a walking meme of tragedy.
It's just so funny.
Who could have imagined that Sextant, the man who usually wore a gloomy expression and plotted against all of humanity from his command center, the ruthless man who treated his son as a tool and his apostles as pawns, would end up in such a sorry state? Chased by wild dogs, stung by wasps, hit by a car, and brutally beaten by security guards like a monster, he now lay limp on a stretcher like a broken sack, too weak even to lift his head. This stark contrast between his fall from grace and his self-inflicted misfortune made everyone want to laugh—and not just laugh, but burst into uncontrollable laughter.
Moreover, people respected Choi Myung, the acting commander-in-chief, more than the sextant.
Cui Ming stood calmly at the command post, his silver uniform crisp and clear, a thermos filled with hot water in his hand, as he meticulously arranged the subsequent defense work. He didn't need to scheme in the shadows, nor did he need to use children as shields. He personally confronted the apostles, and transformed himself when facing monsters, shouldering the danger himself and leaving the safety to his subordinates. Looking at his upright figure, and then at the swollen, pig-like head on the stretcher, the staff's hearts were already completely tilted to one side.
Sextant on the stretcher seemed to sense the mocking gazes around him and tried to twist his body in protest, but the moment he moved, he aggravated the injury on his leg and let out a shrill scream. Cui Ming turned his head, glanced at him, and slightly raised the corners of his mouth before continuing to issue instructions into the microphone, his voice steady and powerful, echoing throughout the entire headquarters.
In comparison, the difference is obvious.
Misato Katsuragi walked over in her high heels, arms crossed, looking down at Sextant on the stretcher. She tilted her head, a half-smile playing on her lips, and asked in a deliberately concerned tone, "Commander, do you need to go back to bed? Judging from your condition, it might be a bit difficult for you to command the operation."
Sextant struggled to prop himself up halfway on the stretcher, his swollen face contorted with rage, veins bulging beneath his purplish skin, his narrowed eyes glaring at Misato. He roared in a slurred voice, each word tearing at his wounds, causing him to gasp in pain, but his rage disregarded that: "Katsuragi Misato! Stop pretending! I know about you... your relationship with that bastard Choi! And Akagi Ritsuko! You all... you all betrayed NERV! You betrayed me!"
But everyone knows that Cui Ming has never done anything behind anyone's back.
Misato picked at her ear, straightened up nonchalantly, and the technicians and staff around her exchanged glances, some even chuckling softly. Choi Myung's relationship with them was no secret at headquarters; the acting commander had never tried to hide it. He'd drive Asuka to work in the morning, eat lunch with Rei Ayanami in the cafeteria, and in the afternoon, he'd straighten Misato's collar in front of everyone—his openness left no room for argument. For Sextant to expose this now was like announcing the sun rising in the east in public; it only made him look more pathetic, without causing any real harm.
Just then, news arrived that a monster had appeared.
The alarm blared, red warning lights began to spin, and a flashing red dot suddenly appeared on the map on the large screen. The operator's voice boomed throughout the operations room: "Emergency report! Giant biological reaction detected in Sector 3! Identify codename: Monster! Repeat, monster detected!"
Cui Ming immediately directed everyone to begin their operation.
He put down his thermos, his eyes instantly sharpening as his fingers flew across the control panel, bringing up the live feed. His voice, steady and powerful, relayed through the communication system to every post: "First Squadron, seal off the surrounding streets and evacuate civilians! Second Squadron, prepare heavy firepower! Third through Fifth Platoons, stand by! Technical Department, analyze the monster's energy spectrum; I need to know its weaknesses within five minutes!" The entire operations room instantly sprang into high-efficiency operation. Everyone took their positions, and no one paid any attention to the swollen pig's head on the stretcher.
Then he said to send the Sextant Commander to the site to take command.
Cui Ming turned his head and looked at Sextant, who was still panting heavily on the stretcher. A playful smile appeared on his lips: "By the way, since Commander Ikari is so badly injured, he must need to stretch his muscles. When the monster appears, Commander Ikari should personally go to the scene to command. Teacher Fuyutsuki, please push him so that he can experience the atmosphere of battle up close and clear his head."
Dongyue also felt that leaving Sextant here would only bring him more bad luck.
The usually taciturn deputy commander, who always followed Sextant around, sighed inwardly when he saw Sextant's miserable state and glanced at Cui Ming's unwavering gaze. He genuinely felt that leaving Sextant here would only lead to more outrageous misfortunes—another beating from the security guards? Or being taken away as trash by a passing sanitation worker? Getting some fresh air was a good idea.
As a result, Sextant's injured leg was bumped as soon as he was pushed in the wheelchair.
As Dongyue turned around pushing the stretcher, the wheels rolled over a crack in the ground, causing the entire frame to lurch violently. The metal edge struck Sextant's injured leg, which had just been broken by the security guard and hadn't yet been secured.
This caused him to scream again.
"Aaaaaah!!!! Fuyutsuki! You betrayed us too?!"
Sextant's screams were so piercing they defied the limits of human hearing. His swollen face was a purplish-red from the excruciating pain, his eyes wide open, tears and snot streaming down his face. He gripped the edge of the stretcher tightly, his knuckles white, staring at Fuyutsuki with a look of utter despair, as if his old friend of many years had suddenly become the most despicable traitor. Fuyutsuki, expressionless, pushed up his glasses, silently adjusted the angle of the stretcher, and continued walking towards the door, as if what had just happened was truly an accident. (End of Chapter)